Sarah Walker
Sarah Walker is the alias of one of the main characters of the fictional television show Chuck on NBC. She is portrayed by Yvonne Strahovski and is one of two agents assigned by the NSA and CIA to protect Chuck Bartowski after he accidentally downloaded the secret government computer known as the Intersect into his brain. Sarah works with John Casey to fulfil this role.Chuck Cast and Crew, TV.com Biography Very little information about Sarah's past has been revealed so far. The only person outside of her family confirmed to know her real name (via her birth certificate) is Director Graham,"Chuck vs. the Cougars" and it is otherwise only known for certain her first name is Sam (revealed in ) and her middle name is Lisa (revealed in ). Her father was a con artist and much of her youth was spent moving from city to city under different aliases to continue her fathers 'work'. Among the aliases she used as a child were Katie O'Connell and Rebecca Franco. She attended at least her senior year of high school—and graduated James Buchanan High in 1998 — under the alias of Jenny Burton. While playing "Know Ya!" at the beginning of "Chuck vs. the Wookie", she mentions having a sister; however, it is currently unknown whether this is true or part of the identity she created as part of her cover. Nothing has been revealed about Sarah's mother, except that she presumably left Sarah and her father at a young age. In , it is revealed that Sarah was not only aware of her father's activities, but actively participated in them. One of their scams involved Sarah fooling an armored car driver into thinking she'd been hit by the vehicle while riding her bike, while her father claimed to be a doctor and examined her. During the confusion, he would then lift money from the vehicle. Another trick was the "Lichtenstein," in which her father would masquerade as a struggling German inventor or businessman attempting to unload an invention or other valuable commodity that never actually existed. Christmases were spent scamming the Salvation Army. It is revealed in that in the year of 1998, Sarah's father was arrested for his own protection after a scam went wrong and put his life in danger. He left her a hidden cache of money for 'Jenny' for just such an emergency, and it was while recovering this that she was first approached by CIA director Graham. He took her in as a protege after remarking on her many aliases as a child and gave her the cover name of Sarah Walker. Although apparently 'recruited' at this point, flashbacks make it clear that she continued in high school; several of the popular children cruelly mocked her as the 'jailbird's daughter' because of her father's imprisonment. Although she was recruited by Graham before finishing high school, Sarah officially began working for the CIA when she left Harvard University. In , it is confirmed that Sarah and her ex-boyfriend Bryce Larkin were working together in Bogota, Colombia as early as 2005, however other episodes suggest their partnership began in 2003. It should be noted that it is entirely coincidental that Bryce happened to be Chuck's former friend and university room mate. Their professional relationship eventually evolved into an intimate one. When Bryce apparently went rogue to steal the Intersect computer — not realizing that he did to stop the rogue government agency known as Fulcrum from obtaining it, Sarah felt both personally and professionally betrayed and it marked the end of their relationship. In , it is revealed Sarah was subsequently assigned by Graham to attempt to recover the Intersect which Bryce sent via e-mail to Chuck before he 'died'. The only lead was this e-mail, and Sarah managed to track Chuck to the Buy More where, posing as a customer with a broken phone, she first made contact with him. Residence Prior to , Sarah lives in the Maison23 apartment complex, however, when her relationship with Chuck begins to grow, she agrees to move into his apartment in "Chuck Versus the Role Models". Series Sarah is one of Chuck Bartowski's two government handlers. She was partnered with NSA agent Major John Casey and assigned the task of protecting Chuck. This extends to acting on information Chuck "flashes" on. As part of her cover Sarah pretended to be Chuck's girlfriend. One of the complications and the main focus on the development of her character throughout the series was that although initially she insisted this was only part of her cover, the two steadily grew closer. While Sarah herself was initially reluctant to either recognize or acknowledge her feelings for Chuck, almost every other main character readily picked up on her attraction to Chuck. Sarah's DEA friend Carina was one of the first to recognize that Sarah's feelings for Chuck are more than merely professional. In "Chuck Versus the DeLorean", Sarah's father realises she is genuinely attracted to Chuck, and retired agent Roan Montgomery"Chuck vs. the Seduction" in has also recognized that she is falling for him, claiming "the lady doth protest too much". Other notable characters who recognized her feelings for Chuck include: Casey, MI6 agent Cole Barker and her own ex-boyfriend Bryce Larkin."Chuck vs. the Ring" The development of Chuck and Sarah's relationship in the series was plagued by Sarah's own active love life and Chuck's interest in finding a real relationship, as demonstrated in the episodes and . However she has displayed a willingness to go to great lengths for him, after the pair commit treason and go on the run in , and she was even prepared to go rogue and draw her gun on another CIA agent attempting to take him into government custody in ."Chuck vs. the Marlin" In "Chuck Versus the Truth", when Chuck and Sarah are infected by a potentially fatal truth serum, Chuck asks Sarah whether she loves him or not, after he admits to liking her. Sarah denies any feelings for Chuck, however it is revealed at the end of the episode that Sarah was only able to deny her feelings because part of her CIA training resulted in her being able to withstand the effects of truth serum. Similarly, in , when the human transport container containing Bryce Larkin is believed to be a massive bomb by Chuck and Sarah, the pair share a kiss, believing they have only seconds to live. thumb|250px|Sarah is injured in . During the first half of Season Two Chuck and Sarah steadily began moving towards establishing a real relationship. Sarah agreed to go on a first "real" date with Chuck in when the Second Intersect was due to go online and he was offered a chance at a real life (in reality, General Beckman ordered Casey to terminate him)."Chuck vs. the First Date" However, when the Cipher was found to contain a Fulcrum bug which destroyed the entire Intersect, Casey decided against killing Chuck. In the closing moments of the following episode Roan Montgomery attempted to offer Chuck advice towards pursuing Sarah, which was derailed by Larkin's second return. However unlike during his Season One appearance, this time Sarah's feelings were clearly for Chuck. When Sarah is admitted to hospital in , Bryce is spotted by Ellie and Devon lingering outside Sarah's room. When Devon takes him in to examine his cut, he explains that Sarah has feelings for Chuck to Bryce, and this leads Bryce to advise Chuck that a personal relationship between the two of them could endanger their lives."Chuck vs. the Breakup The following episodes showed that Chuck and Sarah's feelings for each other continued to establish themselves as Chuck found out more about Sarah's past. This is seen most strongly by the emotional support Chuck provides Sarah when a mission in "Chuck vs. the Cougars" forces her to revisit part of her childhood, and later when Sarah's father returns in "Chuck Versus the DeLorean"."Chuck vs. the Delorean" Although neither Chuck nor Sarah at this point openly told the other they were in love, Chuck strongly suggested this in the mid-season finale , when he gave Sarah his mother's charm bracelet, a gift Sarah says is something he should save for a "real girlfriend.", to which Chuck responds "I know.""Chuck vs. Santa Claus" Sarah's personal feelings for Chuck led to her temporary replacement as Chuck's handler in , as Beckman was concerned those feelings jeopardized the mission. However the replacement agent, Alexandra Forrest, (Tricia Helfer) failed to effectively protect Chuck and he refused to work with her because of her ruthless operating procedure and lack of emotion. Sarah's feelings also gave her a close insight that ended up warning her that Chuck had been abducted when he left his phone in his room. Beckman reluctantly acknowledged Sarah and Chuck's feelings for each other were actually a benefit to their working relationship rather than a danger, and allowed Sarah to resume her role as his handler. During this time Sarah made an unauthorized search of the CIA database at Langley to locate Chuck's father when his own efforts failed. She was with Chuck when they tracked him down to a trailer east of Barstow, CA. thumb|250px|Chuck and Sarah kiss in . Sarah's willingness to provide support for Chuck during when he met his father again accentuated her feelings for him, however neither Chuck nor Sarah acted on this. In , General Beckman ordered Sarah to lure Chuck to Castle so he could be taken into custody and brought back to Washington. Sarah objected, and although she tried to go through with her orders, in the end her feelings for Chuck meant she had to warn him that he was in danger, and the pair went on the run, whilst Casey was tasked with finding them."Chuck Versus the Colonel" While on the run, Chuck and Sarah spent the night in a motel, and shared a bed. It is clear the two were no longer able to hold in their feelings for each other, and they began making out passionately, before Chuck searches his wallet for a condom, finding an "IOU" note from Morgan. In , Sarah was reassigned by Beckman to work on the new Intersect project with Bryce, but when questioned by Bryce at Ellie's wedding, she revealed she had chosen to stay with Chuck. The first half of Season Three saw Chuck and Sarah's feelings for each other collapse. In , it is revealed that 6 months earlier, when Chuck downloaded Intersect 2.0 into his head and was offered spy training in Prague by General Beckman, Sarah was worried that it would change his personality if he became a real spy. She offered to meet him at a Prague train station in two weeks, and the pair would run away with each other under new identities. Whilst Chuck initially accepted, he turned up at the train station and refuses to go with Sarah, citing this as his one chance to become a real spy. As such, Sarah felt betrayed and was emotionally cold to Chuck, especially in the first few episodes. Chuck realised he lost his chance to be with Sarah later in "Chuck Versus the Pink Slip", and entered a state of depression, not bothering to shave or shower. He attempted to call her at one stage, but she threw her phone in the swimming pool when she realised it was him. However, Chuck eventually came to the conclusion that he had to do something if he wants to be with Sarah, and as such ambushed Casey and Sarah's mission to try and talk to Sarah. However, she was not interested, and told Casey to throw him out of the restaurant. Chuck flashed just as he was kicked out and realised that the courier who Casey and Sarah expected to find meeting with a Ring associate was in fact an assassin. Chuck managed to get back into the restaurant by posing as the guitar player for the band performing that night, and when he saw the assassin's laser sights flickering between Sarah's head and the marks, he threw himself off the stage and onto Sarah to protect her. Despite possibly saving her life, Sarah was angry that he jeopardized the mission."Chuck vs. the Pink Slip" In , when Sarah's DEA friend Carina returned to perform a mission with Team Bartowski, Chuck attempted on numerous occasions to talk to Sarah about his feelings. Sarah was unwilling to do so, however, and Carina informed Chuck that this is because she still loved him. Later, when Chuck is locked in a vault which is quickly filling with poisonous gas and he believed he might die, he attempted to talk to Sarah through the vault door and explained all his feelings for her. However, in reality, she was not behind the vault door, instead she was in the ventilation shaft above, turning off the valve releasing the poisonous gas to save Chuck. She then managed to take out the guards opening the vault doors, and opens the doors herself, just as Chuck finished his speech with the words "I love you" and collapsed onto her. Later, in Castle when Chuck is recovering from gas inhalation, Sarah held a private video conference with General Beckman, where she requested a transfer due to Chuck's feelings for her. She realised Chuck was listening in, but continued anyway. Beckman refused to transfer her, telling her to get on with her job."Chuck vs. the Three Words" In the next two episodes, and , however, Sarah warmed to Chuck once more, even comforting him when he refused to allow Devon to work on behalf of the CIA or NSA. However, when Chuck met Hannah in his first solo mission on a flight to Paris, they began a relationship, which effectively put a romance between Chuck and Sarah on hold."Chuck vs. First Class" To add to this, in "Chuck Versus the Fake Name", Sarah revealed her real name (Sam) to Daniel Shaw, something she never told Chuck, and the two begin a relationship of their own, however, Chuck just ended his relationship with Hannah to be with Sarah. In , when Shaw found out that Sarah inadvertently killed his wife in her red test, their relationship ended, and Shaw began to plot revenge against her. He lead her to a warehouse, which he proclaimed as the Ring headquarters. When they entered, Sarah believeed it to be a trap, however, Shaw revealed that she killed his wife and she apologised profusely, before the two share an embrace. Chuck, believing Shaw planned to kill Sarah at this point, turned up along with several dozen soldiers, having requested air support and a tank to rescue Sarah. In , Shaw kidnapped Sarah in Paris and attempted to kill her. However, Casey and Chuck arrived, and whilst Casey dealt with the Ring director, Chuck shot and presumed to have killed Shaw, saving Sarah's life. At the end of the episode, the pair finally began a proper relationship. saw Chuck and Sarah attempting to run away from the spy life together, however they both realised that they want to be spies and be together, and so, in , Beckman ordered them to observe Craig and Laura Turner, a married couple who also happened to be spies. However, the Turners bitter relationship with each other forces Chuck and Sarah to worry their relationship may follow a similar route. highlighted Sarah's protectiveness towards Chuck, when his mental condition degraded as a result of the Intersect damaging his brain. When he was admitted to a mental hospital after having disturbing dreams relating to a possible Ring agent, she not only visited him but also visited the psychiatrist Dr. Leo Dreyfus (Christopher Lloyd). Development On February 12, 2007 Australian actress Yvonne Strahovski was announced''Development Update: Monday, February 12'', [http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=7294 The Futon Critic] for what was then the role of "Sarah Kent," joining Zachary Levi (Chuck) and Adam Baldwin (Maj. John Casey). Prior to beginning of filming the character's name was changed to Sarah Walker. Strahovski was unable to come to the US for audition so the producers allowed her to make her audition via the internet.Interview: January 23, 2008, [http://yvonnestrahovski.net/?p=36 YvonneStrahovski.net] The character is a reversal of typical action film gender roles, with Sarah Walker portraying the protector and fighter while Chuck is the more emotional "brain." Strahovski herself is highly active and performs all her own fight scenes. She considers this one of her favorite parts of the role, especially the fight scene in "Chuck vs. the First Date" against Michael Clark Duncan's towering Mr. Colt.Interview: October 8, 2007, [http://www.buddytv.com/articles/chuck/exclusive-interview-chuck-star-12105.aspx BuddyTV.com] She also speaks fluent Polish, which she worked into the role in the Season One episode "Chuck vs. the Wookie." Very little of Sarah's background was revealed in Season 1 other than her relationship with Bryce Larkin and middle name. However real attention was paid to her past in the first half of Season Two. In June 2008 Nicole Richie was announced to be appearing in a role as a former classmate of Sarah from high school,Cast Update: June 26, 2008, [http://tvdecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/nicole-richie-to-guest-star-on-nbcs-chuck/ TV Decoder] and in September Gary Cole was revealed to be playing Sarah's father in an upcoming episode.Cast Update: September 10, 2008, [http://tv.ign.com/articles/909/909226p1.html IGN.com] To-date the only part of Sarah's name that has been revealed is her middle name, Lisa. It has not been announced if the name Graham hints at on her birth certificate is actually her real name, or if it will ever be revealed. These two episodes ("Chuck vs. the Cougars" and "Chuck vs. the DeLorean") are the only ones so far to have provided any significant amount of information on the character's past, and most of her development has focused on the character's relationship with Levi's Chuck. Reports have indicated that Jonathan Cake will be appearing as an MI-6 agent named Cole Barker as part of a three-episode story arc, in which the agent will be catching Sarah Walker's eye. This will be followed by an appearance by Battlestar Galactica actress Tricia Helfer, who will be playing a CIA agent assigned by General Beckman to take over as Chuck's CIA handler. The reports suggest that Helfer's character is assigned due to Beckman's concerns over the developing relationship between Sarah and Chuck.Blog Entry: November 21, 2008,[http://yvonnestrahovski.net/?p=107 YvonneStrahovski.net] Personality Although a highly-trained CIA agent, Sarah is presented as warm, kind and compassionate, although she can be ruthless when she needs to be. She lacks Chuck's openly trusting nature but displays a great deal of intuitiveness about others' character: Sarah quickly recognized that Chuck was just a regular guy and not a threat, and chose to protect him from the NSA hit team led by John Casey."Chuck vs. the Intersect (Pilot)" She is also shown to be much more empathic and sympathetic to Chuck's plight than Casey, and is highly protective of her asset, to an extent beyond the requirements of her mission to safeguard him. Where Casey only seems concerned with physical threats to Chuck's safety (things that might cost the government the use of the Intersect information in Chuck's head,) Sarah is more concerned for him as an individual. She typically objects to any orders by Graham and Beckman to put him in dangerous situations and openly warned both Lou"Chuck vs. the Imported Hard Salami" and Jill—with whom Chuck carried on brief relationships—not to hurt him. In "Chuck versus the Breakup", John Casey tells Chuck's replacement handler that Sarah was the best agent he has worked with.. thumb|250px|Sarah kills the [[Fulcrum agent in .]] Sarah is quick to acknowledge and reinforce Chuck's own abilities beyond the Intersect, and has told him on several occasions that he has made an excellent spy. During a hostage situation at the Buy More Sarah promised to Chuck that she would never let anyone hurt him and proved determined and willing to go to any extreme to protect him. This is demonstrated when she cold-bloodedly kills an unarmed enemy agent (who had learned Chuck was the Intersect and threatened to reveal the secret to his entire organization) in order to protect Chuck. Although she has denied any romantic interest in Chuck several times, she openly acknowledges a desire to remain friendly with Chuck on a personal level, until the end of the second season, when she and Chuck share several intimate moments. She objects to lying or concealing information from Chuck and using him without his knowledge under orders from her superiors. Only a little information about Sarah's real life has been revealed in the course of the series, and as a result she is shown to be highly secretive, with a past built around false identities. She jealously guards her personal life and even violently threatened Chuck when he attempted to learn more about her. As a nod to continuity when Sarah does talk to Chuck about her past and family she continues to use the name "Burton," as it has not yet been revealed to Chuck that even Jenny Burton is not her real name. Sarah has also been shown to mask her emotions and she seldom lets anyone in close enough to see how she genuinely feels. Bryce Larkin, Casey, Carina,"Chuck vs. the Wookie" Roan Montgomery, and even her father have all had dialog pointing out that she is indeed in love with Chuck, which she has yet to openly admit to him and to an extent still denies. Her father even commented on how he "Made a $10 million bet" that Chuck loved his daughter. However Chuck is also one of the few people she's also allowed to get close to her, and in the few times she has been in a vulnerable state Chuck has been the one there to offer comfort. Unlike Casey, who she insultingly describes as a "burnout," Sarah has not completely shut herself off from her emotions. She is skilled in a variety of espionage techniques, and is adept at taking on different roles and covers. Sarah's current cover previously had her working at the WienerliciousSeason One—a restaurant across the street from the Buy More where Chuck works—and later at a frozen yogurt shop called the Orange Orange.Season Two She has also portrayed a ditzy party-goer, the receptionist and personal assistant to "Mr. Lichtenstein", a hotel staff member,"Chuck vs. the Undercover Lover a call girl,"Chuck vs. the Fat Lady" a waitress, a scientist,"Chuck vs. the Ex""Chuck vs. the Sensei and a member of the Nerd Herd."Chuck vs. Tom Sawyer" Sarah has also used her appearance both as a distraction and an angle on missions as well, at times flirting with the team's targets when needed."Chuck vs. the Crown Vic"Chuck vs. the Third Dimension" Sarah speaks several languages, including Polish, Russian and German,"Chuck vs. the Sandworm" and can easily turn on a convincing Australian accent, as Strahovski herself is Australian-born. thumb|250px|Sarah demonstrates her cooking skills in . Sarah is highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat, including against multiple enemies and even managed to hold the substantially larger Colt at bay. She is also a very good shot with extensive firearms training. Most notable is her expertise in the use of throwing knives, and is one of the skills witnessed by Graham that led him to recruit her into the CIA. She typically wears several in a sheath strapped to her lower leg when her wardrobe allows, and has also used specially-designed hair pins for the same purpose. Sarah has also shown that she is a skilled pilot as she talks Chuck through the procedure of landing a helicopter and takes control of a 747 plane. Sarah's favored side arm throughout the series is the Smith & Wesson Model 5906. Several episodes have implied that Sarah misses or envies the "normal" life Chuck desires to return to. There are indications that she is concerned that Chuck's experiences in espionage work might not only threaten him physically, but might also disillusion him and destroy his kind, trusting nature (for example, his being used and betrayed on a personal level by Jill Roberts threatening to destroy his idealistic views and tendency to trust others). She has also displayed domestic skills, and is a skilled cook."Chuck vs. the Suburbs" References Category:Chuck characters Category:Fictional CIA agents Category:Fictional assassins Category:Fictional linguists Category:Fictional women soldiers and warriors Category:Fictional martial artists Category:Fictional con artists